Yulex^®

Performance and sustainability are two strong core principles at Zhik and are what we have become known for in the sailing industry. Our commitment to protecting the environment stems from our core business value: Made for Water. Care for the environment is woven into the very fabric of our business, so it is our responsibility to respect and protect it wherever possible. 
 
We support and are committed to sustainable initiatives that push the water sports industry to reduce its impact on the environment. This is why we have pushed to become the first brand in the sailing industry to utilise YULEX® Natural Rubber in our X wetsuit range. 

What is YULEX^® foam?

YULEX foam is plant-based and produced with certified natural rubber. It is designed to replace chloroprene rubber or Neoprene, which has been used to create the majority of the planet's wetsuits for decades. 
 
With this natural alternative, you don't have to choose between performance or the planet. Yulex natural rubber products provide optimal performance on land or in the water, are sourced from deforestation-free rubber plantations, and are proven equal or better when compared to neoprene and geoprene in all applications. 

How is YULEX produced?

To make YULEX foam, latex, the natural rubber is sourced from responsibly, sustainably, managed Hevea rubber trees. The latex lt is then rinsed, milled down and dried, and processed into bales of YULEX dry solid. It is this solid rubber that is then used in the manufacturing of YULEX foam to produce YULEX wetsuits. The base polymer is 85% natural rubber and 15% EPDM for weatherability.

The First FSC^® Certified Natural Rubber Supply Chain

The raw material, or natural rubber, comes from sources that are certified by both the Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification (“PEFC”) and the Forest Stewardship Council (“FSC”)—meaning the trees aren’t grown on newly clear-cut rainforest land, like many of the world’s natural rubber supply. Yulex® pioneered the introduction of FSC-certified natural rubber into the supply chain for consumer brands, and now are introducing PEFC-certified supply chains. Still today, certified natural rubber is only about 3% worldwide. 

Why is neoprene not sustainable?

Chances are that you’ve been using neoprene wetsuits for years without realizing they were problematic. As it turns out, there are several reasons neoprene wetsuits aren’t environmentally sustainable.

1. Petroleum Usage

Petroleum is widely known as one of the top contributors to climate change and other aspects of ecological damage. Petroleum isn’t just used as fuel, though – it’s the fundamental origin of neoprene too.

Neoprene is made through a complex chemical process but it starts with petroleum. This is a problem for two reasons. First, petroleum is a non-renewable resource that is quickly running out. Second, petroleum extraction and transport are environmentally harmful.

2. High-Energy Production Process

Oil is refined to make butadiene, which is used to make polychloroprene or neoprene. These processes are energy intensive and emit high levels of CO2 emissions that contribute to climate change. 

3. Health Concerns from Production Emissions

The neoprene production process harms not only the planet but people as well. A primary chemical involved in creating neoprene is chloroprene. Prominent levels of chloroprene emissions in the air have been linked to increased incidence and cancer risks, especially liver cancer and lung cancer. Chloroprene has been named as a “likely carcinogenic” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  

4. Lack of Non-Damaging Disposal Options

When a neoprene product is at the end of its life, there isn’t an eco-friendly way to dispose of it. Neoprene is not degradable, compostable, nor recyclable. The only option is to send it to a landfill, where it takes hundreds of years to break down. As a result, neoprene contributes to the growing problem of garbage pollution.

Why YULEX works with smallholders

THE PROBLEM: Smallholders are the backbone of the industry and there is no investment in Smallholders 

Sustainable forest management is a part of the circular bioeconomy and can promote a more equitable environment and a source of global climate solutions. These opportunities are much bigger than the tools and solutions offered by forest certification alone. Vietnam is the 3rd largest rubber producer in the world, with over 260,000 smallholders that produce more than 50% of the total Vietnamese rubber supply. Thus, volatility of global rubber prices significantly effect, not just smallholder livelihoods but also Vietnamese rubber production and economic stability. 
 
Smallholders have small land plots (1-3 hectares), little understanding of sustainable forest practices, resource restricted agricultural practices, and often no access to financing (bank loans). All this making them especially vulnerable to fluctuating rubber prices, and the cost of certification is perceived to outweigh the promised benefits of market demand and premiums that they are not connected to. 
 
Yulex is committed to long-term solutions to improve access to resources and training to improve smallholder awareness and participation. 

THE YULEX SOLUTION: Direct profit-sharing with smallholders 

Vietnam is a manufacturing hub with a young competitive educated work-force, multilateral free trade agreements, digitally astute, and with easy access to airports and ports. Significantly, many of our partners have manufacturing facilities in Vietnam, thus making shipping YULEX PRIME and PURE grade certified natural rubber from Guatemala and Sri Lanka not a sustainable long- term solution. 
 
Jeff and Liz, owners of Yulex relocated to Vietnam in early 2022 to access and develop certified natural supply chains in-country to support our partners with manufacturing in Southeast Asia including Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan and China. Thus, also keeping the value of each country’s natural resources (natural rubber) and associated upstream manufacturing activities in-country including important the first producers of the natural rubber - the smallholder. 
 
Yulex has committed to sharing at least 50% of our profits from natural rubber sales to the smallholders and others in the supply chain. 
 
Select partners will put in place a digital data system to trace the local buying and selling of natural rubber in the supply chain down to the geo-coordinates of the rubber, to comply with the European Deforestation Regulation.